Gandhinagar: The state govt has set up a data committee to safeguard farmers’ personal, financial and agriculture data. The move aims to ensure that the data is used only with their consent and in accordance with the prescribed regulations.The committee will be led by the additional chief secretary, principal secretary, or secretary of the agriculture department and its members will include a departmental data officer, member secretary, chief information security officer (CISO), deputy director (IT), ICT officer, legal officer, IT experts, and the heads of all boards, corporations, universities, and subordinate offices under the department.“The panel will ensure scientific, secure, and transparent management of data held by the agriculture department, its affiliated boards and corporations, and agricultural universities,” an official statement said on Thursday.The govt said all datasets of the agriculture department will be categorised into five groups: open, shareable, restricted, sensitive, and negative list. This will make it easier to provide publicly useful information such as weather updates, farming techniques, and market prices to farmers, while personal, banking, and other private information will be placed in the sensitive category and kept fully secure.The committee will ensure that the collection, use, and processing of farmers’ data strictly comply with the Union govt’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act and other govt rules. This system will help prevent unauthorised use of personal information and provide legal protection for data security.A complete record of farmers’ consent for the use of their data will be stored securely and remain auditable and traceable. If rules related to consent are violated at any level, the matter will be reported immediately to the State Data Authority, the statement said.Future agricultural policies and schemes will be designed using real data and scientific analysis. Distribution of agricultural subsidies, crop insurance, natural disaster relief, and other govt assistance will become faster, more transparent, and more accurate, the govt said.
